The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-03-19

his benefcent rule had unimpeded sway,
where evil was unknown. Here he
himself abode, and to this lofty level he
strove to lift the impure life, the sinful
and sorrowing race. For this he wrought
through weary years, never doubling
| that the time would come when his
| ideal would be realized. For the JOY
that was set before him." this joy, she
endured the cross" This faith in the
outcome of humanity Jesus shared
with the prophets who were before him,
and all subsequent poets have shared
it with him. Mr.. G.. W. Cooke, in his
| recent book on ''Poets and Problems" ;"
says 1.-The poet is a builder of worlds,
and the progenitOr Of ideal beings.
| What is, he shapes to new fashions and
brings to more consummated express
sion. He reveals the heart of the ac-
! tual, and he forecasts the ideal. What
is to be, delights him as we'll as what
has been. What is to be, he knows
from what is, for he reads the prophetic
meaning of all life and nature. He is
man IS forerunner and Gods foreteller.
The world is development and man a
becoming, but the grandeur of this
growth through endless ages, the poet
makes known by the spirit Of aspiring
life, which is at the heart of his nOblest
song. There is no faith too great for
the poet and no hope too large"
The great themes upon which Jesus
spoke, are essentially poetical, and the
forms in which he clothed them are
those of the imagination. He told of
GGd as a loving Father, and put the
truth into that touching parable of the
Prodigal Son. He spoke of men as
brethren, and the Good Samaritan is
immortal. The worth and dignity of
man are conveyed to us in the story of
him who proposed to build larger barns
for his increasing harvests, while his
own soul was neglected, He spoke Of
his own truth IS the foundation of char
/ acter, and To- the picture Of the two
builders lie told of the Iepentant
sinner, and at the touch of his imagina
tiOn's wand heaven opens with its full.
ness OF angelic song aud giadness. The
n1 ore critically We examine such pas
sages IS these, we more clearly see that
we have in them both the poetic spirit
and the poetic expression. If we take
specific instances of those qualities
which inhere in poetry, where shall we
fpd a passage of profounder pathos
than the lament over Jerusalem ?
Where is there passage of greater
tenderness and breadth of sympathy
than that in which he calls himself The
good shepherd ? Where is there boil
der flight than his description Of the
judgment?
Thus, we find that, in his own life
and its various manifestations; in the
ideal sphere where he dwelt amid i'm
ages of beauty and glory; in the thoughts
that he spoks for men from the bosom
of that higher realm and in the lau-
guage that clothed those thoughts,
Jesus belonged to the true race Of poets.
The thought unfolded must be kept
in mind in all our interpretations Of The
words of Christ Very little did he put
in sharp, didactic style He taught US
truth, but not as college textbook
would teach it, When he said that
wh0saey-r had faith as a grain Of mus
tard seed might remove mountains, we
are not to suppose that he meant to
teach us that We might tumble hills
from their bases, but that the power
of faith was great. When he spoke
of cutting off the offending hand and
foot, of the camel aud the needles eye,
he did not mean to teach self-mutila
ton, or to imply that even Almighty
power could effect a passage for the
camel through so insignificant an aper-
ture; but the necessity of removing
every evil habit, and the difficulty of
freeing from its chains the mind that is
fastened to the dust. Here we must
bring those passages that speak of bliss
and suffering. The joy of the righte-
Gus is represented by banquets, man
| sions, thrones, and other images associ-
ated with gladness and honor We
| read beneath these outward symbols
the peace of conscience, the sense of
triumph that fills the spirit victorious
over evil. So, too, Jesus looked upon the
valley of IIinnom, 'Gehenna," where
the refuse of the city was consumed by
fires that were kept burning night and
/ day 10 his mind it became q symbol
of the soul filled with iniquity, where
burned the fires of remOrse. How, for
centuries, the world has stumbled over
! his meaning Those to whom ne orig
inally spake would never have made
the mistakes that have turned a gospel
of hope into a theology Of despair; that
have reversed the promise Of the profit
and given ashes for beauty; the gar
ment of heayiness for the spirit Of
praise
But the method of Jesus, though liza
BILE to be misunderstood is after all the
true method. When he speaks, we
must hear The arrow does not stop
fiU il has u4sspd fhrOuUh the intellect